Permutation-lock



(Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

D.. K. MILLER. PERMUTATION LOCK.

@No.'24'4,7"60. Patented July 26,1881.

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N. PETERS. Phuwuthagrapher. washington. D. C,

1(Modell) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2. D. K. MILLER.

. PERMUTATIION LOCK. No. 244,760. l 'Patented July 26,1881.

. lif/ 55.9. f /A/yf/va/fgm... am@ i UNITED STATES- PATENT OFFICE.

vDANIEL K. MILLER, OF PHILADELPHIA, FENNSYLVANIA.

PERMuTATloN-LocK.-

lSPECIIE'ICA'IIO1\VT forming part of Letters. Patent No. 244,760, dated July 26, 1881 Application filed November 8, 1880. (Model.)

citizen ofthe United States, residing in Phil-y` adelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain ImprovementsinCombination-Locks, of which the following is aspecicatio'n.

acombination-lock' as to greatly increase the number of possible :combinations without interfering with the security of the lock or lun- Figure 1, Sheet 1, is a view, partly in section and partly in elevation, of my improved combination-lock 5' Fig. 2, a section on the line y 1 2; Fig. 3, a view,`on a reduced scale, ofthe disk and drivers forming part of the lock;

Fig. 4, a view .of Vone of the tumblers; Fig. 5, a view of one of the washers for the tumblers; Fig. 6,a view of one of the washers 'for the drivers;V Fig. 7, Sheet` 2,' a sectional plan view" i on the line 3 4, Fig.- 2, on a still larger scalel than said gure, and with'the tumblers in the position shown by dotted lines; and Figs. 8 and 9, perspective views of parts of the lock mechanism. f 1 A is the casing of the lock, which is secured to the inner side of the door, and is constructed as usual, for the reception and guidance of the bolt B, said casin g having a circular recess for receiving a disk, a, and a number of annular tumblers, b, with intervening washers d. The tumblers are free to turn in the recess, and are retained in position therein by a cap, e, which closes the end of the said recess, the washers d, however, being prevented from turning by' the engagement of la lug on each of said washers with a recess in the lock-case. (See Fig. 2.) D is the knob, graduated as usual', and hav` ing a spindle, E, which is adapted to a bear- 'spect to the lock-case.

ing in a sleeve, f, forming part of the rim-plate F ofthe lock, the latter being secured to the outer face of the door in proper position in re- The spindle E has a whenthe parts are in their proper positions the ring lcan have no rotary movement independently of said spindle.

Theproperfrictional contact between therin g -i'and disk a is effected by means of a screw, j,

1 v theY head of which bears on the ring, and the The object of my inve'ntionis to so construct i threaded stem lof which is adapted to an internal-threaded opening in the spindle E.

Between the collar g of the spindle and the disk a', are confined a series of drivers, m, and Washers n, corresponding in number and location with the tumblers b and washers d. The washers n have lugs which engage with a recess in the spindle, and are thereby prevented from rotating independently ot' said spindle; but the drivers m are secured to the spindle by being clamped between the collar g and the diska, said drivers being at liberty to turn independently of the spindle when the screw j is loosened, so as to relieve the drivers from the clamping action of the disk. Each of the tumblers -b has in the outer edge a notch, s, for the reception of the hooked end of the shank of the bolt; and on the inner edge of each tumbler is a lug, x, adapted to be acted upon by aV lug, y, on the driver corresponding to said tumbler. The lugs x of all of the tumblers are alike, but the lugs y of each driver m differs in size from the lugs of the other drivers, as shown in Fig. 3. The washers d are cut away at the top, as shown in Fig. 5, in

` order to permit the entrance of the hooked end of the shank ot' the bolt into the notches s of the tumblers. The disk ais also provided with a notch, s, one edge of which is inclined for the purpose of elevatin g the end of the shank until its hook is clear of the notches of the tumblers; and on the periphery of the disk a are formed a number ot' ribs, which, as said disk is rotated, cause a constant elevation and depression of the end of the shank, fora purpose set forth in my PatentNo. 17 6,87 6, dated May 2, 1876. Infact, my present lock, so far as regards the construction of the bolt and the actuation of the same 'by the disk a, is similar to the lock described in said patent, and these features form no part of my present invention.

In'each 'of the tumblers b and washers cl and in the disk a and case A is formed an opening, w, these openings, under the circumstances de scribedhereinafter,beingbroughtinto linewith each other, as shown in Fig. 7, so that a pin IOO- may be inserted in the openings, in order to prevent the rotation of the disk and tumblers. Openings w are also formed in the case A and disk a, these openings being at such a distance from the center of the knob-spindle that when they are brought into line a pin passed through them and projected into the lock will form an abutment for the lugs of the drivers m, for a purpose described hereinafter.

The modes of setting or changing the com* bination are as follows: Supposing that the tumblers have been adjusted, so as to bring the notches s of the same into line with each other and with the notch s of the disk a, the hooked end of the bolt-shank resting in the notches, but the bolt not being retracted, (see dotted lines, Fig. 2,) the openings w of the tumblers b and disk a are then in line with the opening fw of the lock-case A and washers d, so that a pin may be inserted to hold the disk and tumblers in the positions to which they have been adjusted. The binding-screw j is then loosened, so as to relieve the disk a and drivers m from pressure to such an extent that while said drivers will turn with the knob-spindle when no obstruction is presented to such movement, they are free to turn independently of the spindle when they meet with such an obstruction. The knob is then turned in one direction-say, to the right-until the lugs y of all of the drivers are brought into contact with the lugs :r of the tumblers, when the direction of movement is reversed and the knob turned partly around to the left, in order to setthe driver 1, the direction of movement being then again reversed and the knob turned to the right to set the driver 2, then again to the left to set the driver 3, and so on until all or as many of the drivers are set as may be desired, the numbers on the knob-dial which correspond with thezero-mark on the dial-plate at the successive changes of movement forming the combination. The drivers which are not adjusted by the movementof the knob, but are allowed to retain their original positions in respect to the tumblers, will, in the operation of the lock, act as a single tumbler. When the drivers have been properly set the screw j is tightened, so as to secure the drivers in position, and the pin is then withdrawn from the openings w in order to free the disk a and tumblers b, whereby, on a proper turning of the knob, the hooked end of the bolt will be raised so as to be free from the notches s, and the lugs :vof the tumblers b will be acted upon by the lugs yof the drivers, so as to carry the notches s of the tumblers out of line with each other and necessitate a manipulation of the knob in accordance with the proper combination in order to again bring said notches into line and permit the operation of the bolt.

When it is desired to set or change a combination after the bolt has been projected and the tumblers turned s0 as to carry their notches s out of line, and when, owing to an error in noting the combination or other cause, the tumblers cannot be properly set, the knob is first turned a full turn to the left and then further turned until a pin can be inserted through the openings w of the case A and disk a, and projected into the lock. The screw j is then loosened and the knob turned to the right until the lugs y of all of the drivers m strike said pin and are brought into line thereby, the screw j being then tightened and the pin removed, when a further turning of the knob will, owing to the action of the lugs y of the drivers on the lugs .rot the tumblers, effect the bringing into line of the notches s of the latter, a pin being then inserted into the openings w, the screw j loosened, and the setting of the combination proceeded with as before described.

It will be seen that by graduating the lugs y of the drivers, using an independent driver for each tumbler, and securing the drivers to the knob-spindle so as to permit the adjustment of said drivers on the spindle, a great number of changes in the combination are possible, and the number of tumblers adjusted in setting the combination, as above set forth, may be as few or as many as desired, so that the character ofthe combination may be simple or complex, as circumstances may demand.

The use of a large number of tumblers and drivers is permitted without unduly increasing the size of the lock, owing to the fact that said tumblers and drivers are made of thin plates of sheet metal, with the projecting lugs formed on the edges thereof, and hence no wider than the plates themselves, the drivers, moreover, being contained entirely within the central openings of the annular tumblers.

The conical ring i', whereby pressure is imparted to the disk a, presents an extended frictional surface, and insures a firmer clamping of said disk than could be obtained with a dat ring-a point of some importance, as the slipping of the disk a on the knob-spindle in the operation of the lock must be eii'ectnally guarded against.

I have shown and described lugs v of uniform size on the tumblers, and lugs y graduated in size on the drivers; but this order may be reversed, if desired, without affecting the operation of the lock.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination of the bolt and knobspindle of the lock, the notched tumblers b, having lugs x, and the drivers m, having lugs y, one set of lugs bein g uniform and the other set graduated in size, and the drivers being secured to the spindle and free to turn thereon independently of each other in setting the cornbination, all substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of the bolt and knob spindle of the lock, the notched tumblers b, and the drivers mf, secured to the spindle and free to turn thereon independently of each other in setting the combination, said tumblers and drivers having lugs on their edges, one set of said lugs being uniform and the other set graduated in size, as described.

3. The combination of the bolt, the knob- IOO IIO

spindle, the independent drivers, adjustable on the spindle, as described, the tnmblers having openings w, and the lock-case and washers having Iikeopenings, whereby'the tumblers can be held by a retaining-pin while the drivers are being adjusted in setting or changing the combination, as set forth.

4. The combination, of the bolt, the knobspindle, the tumblers, the independent drivers, adj nstable on the spindle, as described, and the lock-case A and disk a, each having an opening, w', whereby the drivers can be set in line independently of the tumblers by means of a pin introduced into the lock, as speeied.

5. rlhe combinationof the knob-spindle, the tumblers, the drivers, and washers, and the disk a, loose on the spindle, the tapered ring fi, adapted'to a tapered opening in the disk and incapable of turning independently of the D. K. MILLER.

Witnesses: f

J AMES F. TOBIN, HARRY SMITH. f 

